The Road to Love
by JaneDoe01
Summary: Myy first fic! Hinata & Naruto go on a mission to find Sasuke, what will happen? Will they find love on the way? NaruHina, SasuHina, NaruSaku... Review please! -on hiatus-
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything related. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction but I would be writing the anime-scripts. And if I did own it, I would be stinking rich and currently floating on an air-bed in my gigantic pool next to my billion dollar-house. Having that said, enjoy .

Hey, this is my first fanfic like ever! I have like totally no experience, but always wanna learn :)

I wrote it in less than a half hour, due to the fact I was getting bored at my work due to the lack of work available :p

Hope you'll enjoy it, review but be gentle!

Pairings: Naru/Hina, Sasu/Hina in later chapters

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**The Road To Love**

**Chapter 1**

_**Two dark figures are running at an amazing speed through the forest, not noticing that they are being followed, only focusing on the path ahead of them, both being aware of the single goal they share...**_

_Flashback: Last week at Konoha_

Hinata walked down the streets of Konoha, as did a certain blond shinobi. People could question his skills due to the fact that he was being followed by the Hyuuga-heir. But, although the love of Hinata for Naruto was obvious to everyone in the village, the boy himself did not notice a thing.

Sure he noticed that she would turn different shades of red when he tried to talk to her, but he just assumed that was part of her personality. _She's a weird girl,_ he often thought.

When he arrived in front of the Ichimaru Ramen shop, Hinata followed his example. _Did he notice me?_ she could not help but question. Of course he didn't notice her, but he did notice the pink haired girl walking in his direction. "aaaa Sakura-chan!" he yelled. Sakura didn't pay much attention to him though, instead she just gave him a small smile (was it a smile? Naruto thought it was!) and walked into the ramenshop, followed by a cheery Naruto and they both took a seat.

After having ordered 4 portions of beef ramen, Naruto turned to Sakura. "Aren't you hungry, Sakura-chan?" He could not help but notice the sad look she had on her face. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, we'll get Sasuke back for sure!"

It's been almost 3 years since he left and time was running out. Soon Orochimaru would take Sasuke as his new container and he could not let that happen. Yet Tsunade had not sent them on a mission. He thought that it would be time she did. He would talk to her soon.

"I think that it won't be possible," Sakura responded, "even if we find his current location, there is no way that he would come with us".

There was a brief moment of silent when suddenly Naruto stood up and said confidently "Then we just have to _make_ him come back with us"

"For what purpose? For him to betray us once more? No, his only goal in life is to kill his brother, he doesn't care about us, and even if we force him to come back to us, it isn't changing anything! _He_ won't change!" Naruto noticed that she was on the urge of crying, but she turned away her head just in time so he could not actually see her tears. She wouldn't let anyone see her weak side, not even Naruto. She ran outside the Ramen shop, and as she ran, with her hands covering her eyes, she did not notice the indigo haired shinobi waiting at the entrance of the shop.

Outside of Ichimaru, Hinata overheard the whole conversation, and she wasn't surprised that Naruto would declare him taking Sasuke back (she had heard him say this a lot during the past few months since he returned from training with Jiraya) but what _did_ surprise her, was Sakura's respons. Had she given up on him?

Hinata never really knew the Uchiha-heir, but she knew he was Naruto's friend and that was enough for her. Even if Sakura had given up on him, which she found unexplicable, she knew Naruto wouldn't _ever_ give up on him, so neither would she. She would stand by his side. Forever.

Too bad Naruto had no clue.

Naruto was disappointed in Sakura's reaction but he knew she was partially right, he also knew that it won't be easy to get Sasuke back, but he was convinced that Sasuke _did _care for them. After all, he could have killed him easily at the Valley of the End, yet he didn't, that must mean something. Now that he knew that he couldn't count on Sakura, he suddenly felt very alone. He always was a loner but since he met Sasuke and Sakura he felt accepted in some strange way. But now that Sasuke left and Sakura kept rejecting him and his feelings, he couldn't help but feel a little down. He kept relying on the fact that Sasuke eventually would come back, and everything would be back the way they used to be. He now realised that nothing would ever be the same, even if he did manage to get Sasuke back.

Naruto payed the bill, and walked out of Ichimaru "N-Naruto-kun!" he suddenly heard a tiny voice reach out to him. In front of him stood Hinata, blushing like her usual self. "Hi Hinata, how are you doing?" He said with his best smile, still a little impressed with what happened with Sakura. Hinata noticed this and gave him a little smile in return "F-f-fine, a-an-d y-y-ou?"

"I'm alright I guess" "..."

"Well, I got to go, see you!" Naruto broke the silence. "W-w-wait!" Hinata yelled, uncharacteristicly loud. "Huh? What's wrong Hinata-chan?"

"I-I-I...w-want to h-helpp y-y-ou ret-t-trrieve S-sasuke-kun!"

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_That's it, I'm not quite happy with it, but remember that I wrote it in a very short amount of time, and that I'm a newbie: i just began to watch the anime from begin August, but soon became an addict in need for its weekly dosis of anime and manga :)_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

Special thanks to my beta, Draegan88!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Naruto or related to. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.

**Chapter 2**

"Hinata-chan whát did you say?" Naruto asked

"I-I-I want to help you retrieve Sasuke-kun!" she repeated, this time with a fierce determination.

"Nani? Why? It's not like you know the guy"

"B-bbecause...!" she hadn't anticipated that question, she didn't want to say that she wanted to help Naruto because she _loved_ him, that helping to get Sasuke back was rather a selfish act, she wanted Naruto to be happy, and if in the meantime she could spend some time with her crush, even better!

"B-bbecause he's your friend and a villager of Konoha, and our duty is to protect the people of Konoha!"

Naruto was amazed at the amount of words coming out of the petite kunoichi. When he thought about it, he'd never heard her speak that way before. Yes, he was rather impressed.

He gazed at her and she could'nt help but giggle a bit with the attention he was giving her. And of course, as always when Naruto paid attention to her, her face got even redder.

Naruto thought about it and then shook his head "He doesn't consider me as his friend anymore, and he betrayed Konoha".

"H-hai, b-but y-you _are_ his friend, and if _you_ don't do anything h-he will d-die!", she stated with a sad face. Hinata didn't knew all the exact specifications, but when Naruto came back wounded from his fight with Sasuke, she overheard a conversation which stated that in 3 years, Sasuke would die by the hands of Orochimaru. She didn't know how, nor did she know why he had to wait 3 years to 'kill' him, she was just happy that he was still alive. For Naruto's sake of course, and also because she didn't like it when people, good or evil, died. In fact she hated it, and she wasn't a person who 'hated'.

Naruto sighed. It was true. Although Sasuke didn't consider him as his friend anymore, he still considered Sasuke as his friend, and he surely didn't want him to die, but what could he do about it?

Hinata noticed the confused look on his face and said: "W-we can leave next week... I-if you want?"

Naturally, she would have to go through it with Tsunade-sama, but she doubted that she would let just the two of them go on a mission of such a high risk. She thought about her father and shook her head. If he found out the Hyuuga-heiress went on a mission with the Kyuubi-vessel to retrieve the Konoha-traiter, he would be furious. No, they would have to lie about their intentions.

Naruto watched Hinata as she dazed off, and wondered what she was thinking about, he'd never seen her so determined. He'd never seen her so..so beautiful. He always had a thing for determinated people. He himself was one. It was the reason why he became friends with Sasuke, and why he was so fond of Sakura-chan... until her latest revelation that is. He couldn't believe that Sakura would give up so quickly…so easily... but Hinata-chan, he didn't understand her motives, but he still thought it was very admirable... he always liked the girl, but she always acted so strange around him, maybe if they'd go on this mission together, he would finally get to know her, and although his toppriority would be getting Sasuke back, it would be a nice surplus, even if they didn't succeed. Yes, thats seems like a good plan! When he finally looked up he saw two white eyes staring into his.

"Eh, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto immediately snapped out of his daydream and couldn't help but laugh about the fact that now he was the one dazing of... "Ano?"

"That would be nice Hinata-chan, and we _will_ get Sasuke back!"

---

_Present_

The shinobi were now running very hard to get to their desired destination. Although they didn't even know where that exactly was. Finally they stopped at a giant oaktree. "Byakuan" screamed the female shinobi, when she formed some handseals. She scanned the area, and her sight turned back to normal. "Nothing there" she said. "Damnit we've been running around now for 3 days and we still don't have a single lead" the male said, with enormous arm gestures. "I-I'm sorry Naruto-kun". "Don't be, it's not like it's your fault" he responded more calmly. "H-hai". Although she'd been with Naruto for a while now, she still couldn't help but stutter in his presence... This didn't go unnoticed by Naruto however, and he sighed deeply "Hinata-chan, why don't you feel comfortable with me? Do I make you nervous? Don't you like me or something?"

"Gomen Naruto-kun, I _do_ like you" Very very very much even.

In the distance a pair of eyes watched the two shinobi's setting up camp.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Woohoo who would it be? Ain't telling!

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter 3**  


Naruto was sleeping peacefully as Hinata couldn't catch any sleep at all. She just couldn't get over the fact that he, her longtime crush, was just an inch away. She wanted to touch him, but she knew that wouldn't be appropriate. She turned red, just by thinking of her touching him and let out a soft giggle but quickly put a hand over her mouth to cover the sound. Luckily Naruto didn't hear anything.

She sighed as she stepped out of the tent. _Why are we here again? _

_Oh yeah, to save Sasuke-kun…_ Hinata felt deeply ashamed that she payed more attention to her blond crush than to the mission to save Sasuke. She also felt ashamed that she had to lie to the hokage and to her father in order to be alone with Naruto. _I had to lie_… she tried to convince herself…_I had to lie so we could save Sasuke-kun!_ She wasn't convinced by her own thoughts at all.

Flashback 

_Should I really go through with this?_ she questioned herself. But before she could give herself a response, the door flew open and a young woman, carrying a pig in her hands appeared. "Tsunade-sama can see you now", Shizune said to Hinata who was waiting at the door.

Entering the room Hinata saw Tsunade at her desk, holding a cup of sake.

"So, Hyuuga-san, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Eh.." Hinata began, while tipping her two fingers against each other, "I-i have a f-favor to ask y-you, Tsunade-sama"

Tsunade's eyes windened, _a favor?_ _Hinata is asking ME for a favor? How odd.._

"Hn; continue," she said instead, taking a sip from her sake.

"I-it involves N-naruto-kun"

_Now THAT makes sense._ Tsunade thought as her lips formed a small smile.

"What can I do for you, that involves Naruto, Hyuuga-san?" she asked.

"A-ano, I would l-like to go on a mission with him."

" I see, what kind of mission?"

" A-actually it's more kind of a trip."

"Well if its more of a trip than I could not forbid you for going on a simple trip with Naruto, now could I?" _What kind of trip is she talking about? Are they dating or something?_ She grinned.  
Tsunade, as all of Konoha, knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto, and she thought it would be a good thing for them to spend some time alone together. Maybe Naruto would finally realise what everyone else has realised a long time ago.

"I-it's just that my father… he wouldn't want me to go on a trip with Naruto alone" she stated.

" I see, well, I suppose I could say to him you went on a mission"

"Hai, arrigato Tsunade-sama" Hinata responded as she bowed and quickly removed herself from the office. _That went alright, _she thought till she bumped into the pink-haired apprentice of the Hokage. "Gomen, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura eyed Hinata walking away at rapid speed.

Hinata couldn't help but wonder if Sakura had overheard their conversation…

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**I know I know it's a short chapter and a major filler, I am evil :)  
Gomen, I did 3 chapters in 2 hours… **

**Some feedback from my readers would be nice but remember: I AM A NEWBIE**

**PLEASE REVIEW  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
For the record:

Naruto: 17  
Hinata: 16  
Sakura: 17  
Sasuke: 17

(might be incorrect, but hey this is MY story)

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**Chapter 4**

_Present_

Naruto woke up and he noticed that the girl he was with was no longer sleeping by his side. A sudden feeling of panic overtook him and he jumped out of his sleeping bag and tent.

"HINATA-CHAN!"

He found her sleeping, curled in a ball just like a cat would, and he felt relieved. He couldn't help but find it very cute. "Hinata-chan," he said softly, "time to wake up, we have to go!"

"Hn" she murmured and she looked up with one eye to an almost bare Naruto, who only wore his boxers.

"Eeeeek" she screaked and then she fainted.

When she woke up she realised she was being carried by Naruto on his back . She blushed a deep red and figured she could just pretend she was still out. Their bodies had never been this close. She imagined Naruto in his boxers and felt a sudden heat running through her body. She wanted to stay like this for a while but found it unfair to Naruto so she just whispered "Naruto-kun, I'm alright now, you can put me down"

Naruto on the other hand, didn't want to let her down, he thought that she must be very sick from staying outside all night, since she was knocked out cold when she woke up. Besides, he liked to feel the curves of her body on his back. _She sure has grown a lot this last couple of years._ He couldn't help but blush.

Eventually he put Hinata down, and Hinata noticed his red shadened cheeks. Which caused Hinata to blush even deeper, if that's even possible (apparently it was!)

They stood there for a while, not saying a word from embarresement. Naruto broke the silence by saying that they should move quickly if they wanted to find a hotel to stay for the night. 4 days now, and they still had no clue where they could find Sasuke. It would be nice if they could find a hotel, he sure could use a shower, he only hoped that Hinata wouldn't notice that.

Hinata did notice the smell, but she figured that it was she who could use a shower, and hoped that Naruto wouldn't notice.

The rest of the way went almost in complete silence, Hinata was tired and distracted by her thoughts about Naruto because she didn't even notice the pink-head that had been following their trail since they left Konoha.

---

Sakura watched as the couple continued their way, and she still wasn't sure how come she had to follow them in the first place. She was happy that Hinata finally got some attention from Naruto, but still found something very off with the whole picture of Hinata and Naruto going on a mission with just the two of them.

She was informed by the fifth that Naruto and Hinata would go on a 'mission', and she asked her if that mission had anything to do with Sasuke, the conversation she had with Naruto still fresh in her mind. She couldn't help but find herself a little guilty by giving up on Sasuke, yet she thought it was for the best. She was sure that Naruto had done something stupid and ran to prove her wrong.

_"I will bring him back, even if I have to make him"_

Tsunade asked her why she would think such a thing so Sakura explained. When she ended her story, to which Tsunade had been listening very carefully, she began to reconsider the words of Hinata and began to put them in the light of this new information, provided by her pupil. She took the accusations of Sakura very seriously. _So_ it_ seems like I have been fooled humm?_

Tsunade was surprised that of all people it was Hinata who fooled her, but her emotions turned in a swiff from shock to anger. She was not angry with Hinata though, she figured Naruto must have convinced her to go with him, and seeming the crush the girl had she probably couldn't refuse. Not only was she angry with Naruto, she was angry with herself. _Great Hokage I am._

Then she raised, put her both hands on her desk, clenched her fists in confidence.  
"Alright, Sakura, I have a new mission for you..."

And now she was here in the middle of nowhere, watching as the two shinobi continued on their path. Until now everything seemed normal, but she could see that they were cleary looking for something. She sighed. She had to report the fifth every three days about their whereabouts. If she didn't, she would be considered a missing-nin, and so would Naruto and Hinata. So all of a sudden she was responsable for the lives of 3 people._ I should have held my big mouth shut;_ she thought, yet she was curious on finding out if they were actually out here on finding Sasuke, and more over, if they actually managed to find him.She used a special jutsu, to hide herself in the shadows. But if anyone would look a little more closer, she surely would be discovered, she was actually surprised that it hadn't happened yet. With Hinata's Byakuan, and Naruto's smell, it was only a matter of time though...

---

Meanwhile Naruto and Hinata arrived at a little village, they knew that the hidden Village of Sound was close, so they had to be extra carefull. The village itself wasn't much, it seemed quite poor, in comparison to Konoha that is. It was strange, there were no children outside, and the people looked at them like they were intruders of the worst kind. _Something really bad must have happened here, children don't stay inside the house unless it is too dangerous for them do otherwise.. _Hinata felt very sad for these people. She loved children and thought they should be on the estreats, playing with each other.  
"I don't even see a Ramen shop" grumbled Naruto, equally depressed as Hinata was.

Finally they arrived at something that might be considered a hotel. They entered it, but found no-one there. "Hellooooo, anyone there?"

As they walked further down the hall, they found a small kitchen, to their amasement it was in a pretty good state. A little further was a bedroom, with a king sized bed and a bathroom attached to it. "It seems like someone recently restored this place," Hinata constellated.

Naruto agreed, but on the moment he just didn't care, he just wanted to take a shower, eat something, and go to bed quickly. So Naruto began stripping of his orange jumpsuit

"N-nani? N-naruto-kun?" Hinata was surprised at Naruto's sudden actions and began tapping nervously with her fingers.

"I'm just taking a shower Hinata-chan" "H-hai," she said; she couldn't take her eyes of the undressing Naruto, although she thought that that would be the appropriate thing to do at the moment, so she averted her gaze.

"I'll try and find something to eat for us, Naruto-kun"  
_Finally we get to be alone under one roof! _She looked at the kingsize bed and giggled.

In the kitchen she managed to find some beef ramen under the sink. "Naruto I found some ramen!" When she didn't got the respond she was looking for, she took a pan and decided to cook it for him while he's taking the shower. Dinner was ready, and Naruto was still nowhere to been seen. Normally the smell of ready-to-eat ramen should have done the trick of luring him out the bathroom. "Naruto-kun, dinner is ready!

Figuring that something might be wrong, Hinata decided to take a quick peek into the bathroom, only to find noone there. His clothes were still scattered around the bedroom flour, so he couldn't have gotten far. The thought of Naruto walking around with nothing on, turned a shy smile on Hinata's. She shook her head, this wasn't the time for kinky thoughts about her blonde object of affection.

Suddenly she heared a cracking sound, it seemed that it came from the main hall. Taking a kunai in her left hand, she slowly moved in the direction door that lead to the main hall to find out what the source of the noise was, forgetting her bloodline limit... Standing with her back pressed against the wall she took a deep breath and turned the corner. She quickly spotted the door but instead of seeing an intruder she saw the doorknob twisting, as if someone was forcing an entrance. Taking another deep breath she reached for the doorhandle. With a shaking hand she turned the lock and opened the door….

TO BE CONTINUED

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_Sorry guys, I know it sucks…this story actually is good way of distracting me from work (or the lack of it), but in this boring place there's isn't much inspiration, ya kno what I mean? Suggestions for the next chapter are very welcome! _

_**PlEASE REVIEW!  
**_

Special thanks to my beta, Draegan88, you rock!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Still not certain how the definite pairings will turn out to be... It's kinda up to u!  


_Standing with her back pressed against the wall she took a deep breath and turned the corner. She quickly spotted the door but instead of seeing an intruder she saw the doorknob twisting, as if someone was forcing an entrance. Taking another deep breath she reached for the doorhandle. With a shaking hand she turned the lock and opened the door…_

"_Naruto-kun?" A grinning Naruto stood at the other side with his hand rubbing the back of his head and an embarrased look on his face. "I, euh, I went exploring the house looking for some towels and locked myself out"_

_A/N; and this would be like sooo unreal, so let's forget this and move on with the story :p_

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**Chapter 5**

When the door slammed wide open white eyes met dark onces. Hinata's eyes widened and she felt her body trembling while the owner of the other pair of eyes didn't show any emotion whatsoever. She didn't know how to react, she didn't know if she should speak or remain silent. She'd like to run away but fear overtook her body and she could not move. The other person looked at her with piercing eyes. Yes if looks could kill, she'd be dead right now. She managed to step a few metres backwards, only to be stopped by the feeling of the wall on her back. She recognised the intruder in front of her immediately, however, it seemed that the other person did not know who she was, judging by the questionable look he gave her.

"S-sasuke"

Sasuke was surprised that when the door of the house opened, a girl met him at the entrance. It was even more surprising that the girl knew his name. He tried his best to not show any emotions of surprise tough, he must remain his cool self. He thought her eyes were strange, he could not read anything from them, but her body gave him enough clues to see she was scared of him. He didn't want to waste time here, he's here for only one thing. He stepped towards the girl, leaning against the wall, and grabbed her by her collar. "Where is he?" he asked her with a commanding voice.

"I-i d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about" she said so softly, that if Sasuke didn't have such good hearing, he surely wouldn't have heard her.

"Look woman', he said as he pressed his body closer towards Hinata, so she was pinned against the wall, his hands now holding her wrists "we can also do this the hard way you know..."

"B-but I r-really don't know!" she said with a blushing face, and she turned her head slightly to the left, in the hope he wouldn't notice. _God Hinata, you really are weak, _she thought to herself, embarrased by the fact that even in a situation like this she just couldn't help but blush when a man touched her body, a real handsom man that is.

Sasuke was getting really annoyed by this woman, her stuttering just made him want to slap her, but on top of that it really seemed that she didn't know anything. He sighed and slowly pulled away from her, still holding her wrists tightly in his hands.

He inspected the tiny woman in front of him and had a strange feeling of recognition. _She seems so familiar... those eyes... I know I've seen those eyes before, but where?_

His grip around her wrists weakened. _Now or never!_ Hinata thought and in the same moment she boldly pushed Sasuke away with all her force and made a run for it.

Sasuke, angry with himself that the girl made him drift away in thought, began persuing her through the house. She was just a couple of metres in front of him so he took a dive and managed to grab her legs. With a hard thud she fell on the floor and as she did, Sasuke quickly crawled on top of her so now he was laying on her back.

"G-gomen, S-sasuke!", Hinata apologised while she now was stuck between the floor and the heavy male body on top of her. She could feel his warm breath tickling her neck.

Hearing his name for the second time, Sasuke snapped. "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!" He yelled in her ear, almost causing her eardrums to explode..

"..."

"DID _HE_ TELL YOU ABOUT ME?"

She cringed and then nodded faintly "H-hai, he did." She wispered, "' h-he told me a lot! S-sasuke! He he r-really wants to save you!"

_He wants to save me? What the hell is she talking about?_

"P-please don't kill him!"

_As if!_

"DON' KILL NARUTO-KUN!" she screamed, her eyes overflowing with tears.

_Naruto?_

For the first time he entered the house, he was utterly shocked. _What the hell is that dobe doing here?_ He didn't expect this to happen at all. _Damnit Naruto! Don't get in the way of my plans..._

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Naruto woke up with his armes suspended in the air, chained to a wall. _What the hell happened? Where am I?"_ His head felt heavy and his armes started to cramp. He tried to remember what happened.

_  
...Flashback..._

Naruto enjoyed the hot water that flowed out of the shower head. _Aaaaah this feels goood_...

He quickly cleaned himself with a washcloth and he stepped out of the shower, careful to avoid slipping on the puddle of water that now covered the whole bathroom floor.

While he was admiring his naked form in the mirror above the sink for a couple of minutes, he heard a female voice scream with enthousiasm:

"Naruto-kun I found some Ramen!"

_Yay Ramen! This turns out to be a good day after all...! _he thought, and the largest smile he was capable of appeared on his face. After grabbing a towel that he found under the washtub and putting it around his waist, he took one quick glance into the mirror.

Much to his surprise he saw a reflection of a dark figure behind him, darting behind the showercurtains.

_What the hell?_

He quickly turned around to see if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. _No, there's cleary someone in the shower!_ "Alright you pervert, I know you are there! Just come out already so I can beat the living crap out of you!" But the figure didn't respond nor did it move.

"Are you deaf are something? I KNOW YOU ARE THERE!"

When still nothing happened, Naruto grew impatiently and started walking towards the shower. With one fast jerk he pulled away the curtains. Just fractions laters, Naruto found himself surrounded by a black abyss. He was unconcious. The only thing that repeated in his mind were the last senses he picked up before he blacked out. A sweet female voice that stated "Naruto-kun, dinner's ready!", a cold breeze that brushed against his skin and most of all, that pair of dark, red eyes...

_...End Flashback..._

_Those eyes..._ _I've seen them before..._ He clenched his teeth together out of anger and then screamed "Sasuke! Come out you bastard!"

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Sasuke sat up straight, still on top of Hinata, reflecting on what the girl just said. Suddenly he realised something and his face twitched.

"So... is Naruto _here_?" Hinata responded with a small shake of her head, her eyes still filled with tears. Sasuke felt immensly relieved, the last thing he wanted was to be confronted with the blond-headed baka. "How do you know that Naruto-baka?"

"DON'T CALL NARUTO-KUN BAKA!" she screamed, as she tried to roll over, but this time Sasuke was on guard; he grabbed her head and pushed it against the floor. Although it didn't actually hurt, Hinata started to weep unconsolably and tears poured out at a rapid speed. _Naruto-kun, where are you?_

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the sight of her crying but in fact he couldn't stand it. He didn't want to be a man that makes women cry. Actually, in his short life he already made a bunch of women cry, _But those weren't women, those were annoying fangirls, _and he mentally nodded his head, _definitely NOT women. _

"If I let you go, will you remain quiet and won't try anything?". She didn't answer him but he let go of her anyway and stood up.

After a minute of just laying down she rolled over and looked up at the raven-haired boy that slightly bowed over her. Their eyes locked but nothing was said. Sasuke could feel the tension rise with every second, with every word that wasn't spoken. He tried to read what she was thinking, but it was an impossible task to perform. _Those eyes…_

Suddenly it dawned on him. _Those eyes... the bloodline... of the Hyuuga-clan? So this girl must be one too… right? _He mentally slapped himself on the head. How stupid was he for not recognising the famous trait? Even Orochimaru taught him some of the Hyuuga-history. To his defense, he was too focused on his 'mission' to even think about it. Besides, he always heard that the Hyuugas were very powerful, and this girl seemed rather the opposite of it.

_So she's from Konoha..._ A scowl graced his face.

"You're coming with me." He said and grabbed the front of her shirt pulling her up.

TO BE CONTINUED

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_Woohoo, didn't saw that one coming (sarcasticly)  
Probably gonna redo this chapter anyway, some advice anyone?  
_

_I know it's full of clichés (such as the psycho-scene) but it'll get better!  
Just wait and READ! _

_Some nice reviews may do the trick also. So give me some COOKIES :p  
Yummy_

_**REVIEW PLEASE!  
**_

Special thanks to my super-beta Draegan88!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: OK; I REALLY NEED SOME REVIEWS (criticism/suggestions/advice)  
THIS IS MY FIRST FIC AND I REALLY DON'T KNOW IF I'M DOING ANY GOOD HERE!  
I might end up quitting you know!  
For all those that _did_ review my story: thank you very much and here is a new chapter for you guys!**

* * *

_So she's from Konoha..._ A scowl graced his face. 

"You're coming with me." said Sasuke and he grabbed the front of her shirt pulling her up.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Hinata could feel her heartritm start to pound faster in her chest, the moment he said those words she felt afraid and nervous but those feelings did not last long for he was now holding her wrist, dragging her with him, out of the village and through the thick woods, at a speed she could hardly keep up with. Hinata had no time to think where they were going, and what he was going to do with her. The only thing she was focused on was his hand that held hers in a tight grip, her wrist was starting to feel sore from the pressure.

On top of that, she could clearly feel a presence nearing them but she didn't dare to activate her Byakugan, because she was afraid he would get upset with her.

Perhaps Sasuke could feel it too, because he abruptly stopped running, causing Hinata to bump into him. "G-gomen S-sasuke, I-i just…" he placed a finger on her mouth, signalising her to stop talking, but the touch of his finger on her mouth made her flush a little, to which he payed no attention to.

Suddenly Sasuke ran of and disappeared behind the bushes, leaving a surprised and confused Hinata behind.

* * *

Sakura was hiding behind the bushes, still poundering on the events she witnessed a couple of hours ago. 

_---  
FLASHBACK  
_

After following Hinata and Naruto on a reasonable distance into the village, she saw them entering a house. When they were out of sight, Sakura moved a little closer to the enormous building. She wanted to take a peek through a window, only to find there were no windows at all…

Another thought struck her mind: she couldn't feel their chakra-pulses anymore! _  
_

_But that's not possible, I clearly saw them going into this house! Perhaps some sort of barrier around it? s_he speculated as she touched the wall as if expecting to feel something out of the ordinary._  
But if so… why?_

Distracting her of her thoughts, she heared a bird screeching and when she moved her head she saw a falcon circelling directly above her head.  
_It's __already__ been three days hmm?_

It was time to update the Hokage on what she had discovered thus far. Which was roughly said, not much. She decided to tell Tsunade about their whereabouts, and that nothing out of the ordinary had happened as far. But she would let her know if anything did.She wispered the message to the falcon, that now had landed on her arm and watched him fly away.

All of a sudden Sakura felt a strong chakra-pulse nearing the house… she quickly jumped into the nearby bushes, while concentrating on concealing her chakra, and hoped it would go unnoticed. Fortunately for Sakura, it seemed like it did?

She could identify a man standing in front of the house, on the same place she just stood, touching the wall the same way she just did. He was just inches away from her hiding place; she could almost touch his leg if she reached out. Her breathing quickened and Sakura sincerely hoped he wouldn't hear her thundering heart.

When she looked up from behind the bushes, carefull not to expose herself, she managed to get a glimpse of the mysterious man.. He wore a long black coat covered with red markings and she could distinguish a golden ring on his left hand. She couldn't see his face clearly though, it was covered with his black bangs.

_It almost seems like I've seen this guy before_, she thought and blinked her eyes. In the split of a second that she closed and opened her eyes, the man had disappeared.

_Hmm, that was strange…_but before she could finish her thought the man appeared again out of nothing, this time carying something or _someone_ on his left shoulder.

_Naruto_?

Sakura gasped but immediately put her hands in front of her mouth to muffle the sound. With a swift motion the man ran of, at a speed Sakura had never seen before and since she possesed no byakugan or sharingan she could only see a shadow vaguely disappearing into the direction of the woods. Sakura decided that the coast was clear and followed the trail of the mysterious man who appearantly just kidnapped her teammate.

She did not pay _any_ attention to the very familiar chakrapulse coming out of the opposite direction.

_END FLASHBACK__  
---  
_

So that's how she got here, hiding in the bushes, unsure of which way to go next. _Great! Now I'm lost! Dear Kami-sama, what was I thinking, following this guy mindlessly while I have no idea who he is, and where he was going to… and I call myself a shinobi! But it seemed this guy was only after Naruto, so at least Hinata is alright…  
_But she realised she just tried to be optimistic, and that it was no certainty whatsoever.

Suddenly she heard the cracking of treebranches…

* * *

After realising what happened, Hinata debated with herself if she should try and run now that she had the chance to do so. While still indecicive on what she should do, Sasuke re-appeared from behind a large tree. On his shoulder he held a knocked-out female shinobi. He let her fall on the ground with a loud thump, allowing her face to be revealed to Hinata. Her pearly white eyes widened. 

"A-a s-sound-ninja?"

He nodded without really looking at her and began searching the sound ninja's body. He took something out of the woman's jacket and put it in the left pocket of his pants. He grumbled and stood up, still without saying a word.

Hinata found the silence akward but she couldn't bring herself into starting a conversation with him, after all he was the Konoha-traitor, who just took her with him against her will.

But maybe this wasn't so bad, maybe she could somehow convince him of coming back with her to Konoha. Yes that might be a good idea! Naruto would be so proud of her!

_But where is he anyway? _

Before she could give it anymore thought, and worry about it, Sasuke took her wrist in his once more and proceeded to rush obsessivly with the Hyuuga-girl reluctantly following his tail.

"Naruto-kun…" she wispered with her timid voice.

* * *

"Sasuke-teme! Come out already!" Naruto howled, red chakra rushing out of his quivering naked body (A/N: yes he's naked; let's assume that the towel fell off :p). But the chakra quickly abandonded him, leaving him exhausted and immobilized on the cold floor, his arms still constrictid by the chains that were connected to the brick wall behind him. _Damn Fox, lend me your power!"_

Out of nowhere, a low voice spoke to him. "It is of no use boy, you are stuck to a chakra-absorbing wall, there is nothing you can do, not you and not that Kyuubi-demon inside of you."

Evil laughter echoed into the seemingly empty room.

And red eyes glowed in the dark.

* * *

The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon but the two shinobi's were still moving through the dark woods. Hinata was exhausted, she could no longer feel her legs, she wanted to rest but it didn't seem that her kidnapper was going to let her do that any time soon. So she did the only thing she could think of. She let herself drop on her knees. Not anticipating the sudden stop of movement, Sasuke fell backwards, letting go of her hand. The sudden release of his hand made Hinata sigh in relief until she saw the body of the raven-haired boy coming towards her. Avoiding a collision, the girl took a step to the side, and the great Avenger flew passed her and connected in a painfull way with the ground, rear end first. (A/N: Another way to say that our 'great avenger' just fell hard on his butt:p) 

Hinata had the urge of laughing, but realising that she actually was the cause of this 'accident' she managed to control herself.

Sasuke moaned in pain as he uprighted himself, rubbing his buttocks to cease the burn. When he looked up he saw the girl smiling at him, hints of amusement in her eyes. He wanted to scold her, slap her, anything that could make him feel better. But instead he just looked embarrassed, and he quickly turned himself away from her with his armes folded so she wouldn't notice. "We'll set up camp for tonight" he said under his breath.

Never taking his eyes of the indigo-haired girl, Sasuke set up the tent. Meanwhile, Hinata managed to produce a campfire and took some instant ramen , that she snuck away from the house, out of her backpack.

Dinner proceeded in complete silence. Both sat at the opposite direction direction of eachother, and although she couldn't see his eyes because of the black bangs that wandered into his face, she could clearly feel him staring at her.

"What's your name?" he broke the silence.

"…"

"Since you already know mine, I think it'd be fair to learn yours."

Hinata considered for a brief moment what he just said, and then spoke:

"I-I am H-hyuuga Hinata"

He nodded and continued his meal. Nothing more was said.

When they were both finished, Sasuke gestured Hinata to follow him into the tent. Inside the tent Hinata noticed that there was only one sleeping bag but she didn't have much time to ponder on it because Sasuke began taking of his clothes until the only thing left were his boxers. While he stripped himself, Hinata just looked at him, twiddeling her fingers like she always did when she was nervous. When the now half-naked boy jumped in to the sleeping-bag, putting himself with his back towards Hinata, she decided to undress too, leaving her oversized t-shirt on. She got into the sleepingbag so they were now laying back to back. Not for long though, because she could feel two strong arms slowly embracing her waist. She was happy that he couldn't see her face, because in all her life she never was more embarrassed then she was on this very moment.

"I wouldn't want you to escape while I'm sleeping, now would I...?" he smirked. "...But I promise that I won't do anything unappropriate…" he added softly when he felt her body tense.

With that Hinata relaxed and closed her eyes. She could feel his muscular body pressed against hers, and she felt her temperature rise. _This actually feels kinda nice_, she thought as she slowly fell asleep, and for once her dreams weren't invaded by a certain blond shinobi we all know too well.

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and he could vaguely see a figure approaching him. 

_Definitely not Sasuke…_ he realised, as the man now stood in front of him, a grin decorating his face. _He does look like him though._ The man had the same black bangs as his former best friend, the same eyes… exept for him wearing a odd black n red robe. _Wait! I've seen this guy before… when I was on training with Jiraya... that weardrobe… What was it again… Aka-.. __Akatsuki? This guy is…_

"Uchiha Itachi" grunted an angry Naruto.

The man bursted out in laughter. "What it that hard to figure out, kid? Since there only two with these" and he pointed at his eyes "the chances to apprehend my identity are rather large" Itachi stepped a little closer towards Naruto "And still… you somehow managed to confuse me with my little brother"

Naruto faced the ground, uncharacteristicly silent.

"So, you're name is Naruto, right…? Before we continue with more serious matters, I've been meaning to ask you something…"

Itachi took the chin of his prisoner in his hand, pushing his face upwards so he could look him in the eye.

"… are you somehow acquainted with a pink-headed kunoichi?"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

_**thumpthumpthuuump**_

_**Longest chapter thus far!  
Since it might be the last, I thought I should put some effort in this one…**_

**Sorry for all the grammatical mistakes I made, but my beta was unavailable  
(she's also my sister and we momentarily have some difficulties being in the same room… aaah sisterly love!)  
I'll revamp this chapter as soon as possible!**

_**PLEASE REVIEW! Arigato!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Here I am again with a new chapter! Sorry it took so long but I have to work my butt off for college and I really didn't have much time to continue this story. Anyway I managed to do this chapter. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 7**

The next morning Hinata awoke with the feeling of something hard pressing against her tights. Instinctively she opened her eyes and tried to pull away from the annoying object that disturbed her well deserved sleep. But she could not move because of two strong arms holding her by her waist on one hand and an extremely narrow sleeping bag surrounding her on the other. She realised that the unknown object that was pressing against her personal area, was somehow attached to the body behind her. The Hyuuga-heir had no sexual experience whatsoever, but she did know what happened when men got 'aroused', she knew at least the technical parts, she had to, if she ever wanted to make it to medical-ninja. _This must be a dream._  
But she knew the only man she ever dreamt or even fantasied of in such way was…

Her face turned scarlet.

That's it, she would get out of this awkard position, _now_! Feeling rather bold at the moment she roughly managed to roll over on? her other side, accidently lifting her knee in the proces.

The raven-haired man's face twitched and a low growl could be heard.

---

Sasuke woke up with a unpleasant feeling under his groin, which made him snap out of his for once pleasant dream._ What an anti-climax, _he thought, trying to not let the pain get to him. When the pain subsided, he opened his eyes and stared into the hypnotising pearly white orbs of the girl that was bending over him.

Hinata deactivated her bloodline limit and bowed her head, ashamed and frightened at the same time. She managed to break free from his grasp but she wanted to make sure he was okay - until she realised just _where_ she had hit him.

"G-gomen Nasai, S-sasuke."

For a moment he wanted to yell at the girl for disturbing his _good_ rest. But that was before he noticed that the girl's face was completely flushed. You didn't have to be a genius to figure this one out. Sasuke just bearely managed to surpress his will to loose himself in uncontrollable laughter.  
Instead he kept on his uninterested face like he didn't know why she was so embarrased. He had no need to talk with her about the whole situation because he wasn't uncomfortable with it. It was only natural for a man to...

_Besides, she hit me!_

He closely watched the girl in front of him who seemed to be on the top of her discomfort, nervously shaking her hips from side to side while stealing covered glances. He smirked.

---

Hinata carefully watched the young man beneath her, who was obviously thinking about some kind of punishment he would give her for her 'misbehaviour'. She was not sure of what Sasuke would do if he was upset. Hinata noticed that the look in his eyes had turned from 'ready to kill' into something else. The silence was killing her.

She swallowed. Should she be relieved, or frightened?

---

"Why should I forgive you?" the Uchiha-heir asked in a devilish way and he reached out for her and pulled her fragile body down in a hard embrace. The look of horror on her face just before he did was priceless.

---

She did not hear his question, she was to busy keeping herself in check.

This was not what she expected!

She could feel all of his _very_ masculin body beneath her, his bare legs entangled with hers, her breast pressing hard against his chest...

_So… close…_

That was all the sexual tension our timid Hyuuga could handle. She could feel her familiar nausea coming back and she knew that in any minute now she would lose conciousness…

"…In through your nose and out through your mouth."

One moment she laid on top of him, the other moment she was supported by two strong arms and she was sitting upstraight .

_Nani?_

_---_

Sasuke noticed the girl's colour change from an extremly red colour to an extremely white. _Oh no you won't!_

In a swift motion he managed to push her upperbody away from him, and uprighted his own so he himself was I a sitting position, all while supporting her back so she wouldn't flip over.

"Close your eyes. Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth…. Slowly." He spoke softly, while stroking her back.

---

With the combination of hearing his seemingly caring voice, his calming gestures and doing as told, the nausea dissappeared and she felt better.

"A-arigatou…" She said softly, first trying to focus on his belly-button to avoid the issue of him being just in his boxers , but with that failing, she lifted her head up. What she saw in his eyes was surprising.

_Amusement? Is he… was he… teasing me?_

_--- _

Sasuke was definitely teasing Hinata although he would never admit it. For him it was more like sweet revenge.

He did not know why he brought her with him in the first place, he figured that since she was a Hyuuga he could use her later, in a bargaining perhaps. As long as she won't get in the way of what he's suppose to do, it was all fine.

In the meantime, he could just try and enjoy the company he hasn't had in a great while.

---

Hinata didn't understand this twisted person in front of her. He was, unlike Naruto, so hard to figure out.  
She was angry with herself for so acting so foolish but she was really _pissed_ at him for being the cause of it.  
Yet she was too afraid – or too polite – to let those emotions shine through her words:

"Can I get changed now?"

---

_No annoying stutter. Definitely an improvement._

"Sure," he answered calmy, but did not move, instead he just smirked and watched her get on her feet.

---

Since he seemed to have no intention of being a gentleman and leave the tent, Hinata just turned her back towards him and start to take of her shirt. She could feel his eyes printed on her back.

She sighed.

_I guess I don't get to change my undergarments then._

_--- _

Sasuke's mouth fell open and he couldn't keep his eyes of the amazing curves of that timid Hyuuga. He guessed she was a shinobi , but he would never have thought that she had such a nice figure if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He felt his cheeks burning.  
But just seconds later, that beautiful body of hers was again hidden in an oversized and hidious coat. He rubbed his eyes as if he'd just seen a mirage and then quickly turned his attention to the floor, in search for his own clothes. After he himself was completely dressed, he turned his attention back to Hinata, who had apparently already turned around and was nervously pushing her two index fingers together.

"Right, now let's find something to eat"

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Sooo what do you think?? I know nothing really happened concerning the story line! I guess I am in real writer's block. Although it was difficult, it was also amazingly funny to write this chapter. I hope it was fun reading it. **

**OOCness? _Yeah probably_**

**Filler? _Definitely_**

**Did you like it? _That's what I wanna know!_**

**Thanks to all my reviewers, I'll keep on writing just for you!**

**KEEP REVIEWING!**

* * *

**Special thanks to my beta Draegan88!**

**Happy New Year and see u soon with a brand new chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto

A/N: First of all: I'm sooo sorry for the long wait. I was very busy and didn't really know what to do with this story. I've eventually decided to continue this story; but due to the huge writersblock, I have made it an extremely short chappie! Either way, thanks for keeping up with me and enjoy.

Updated: I have done some serious editing over here, but it's still not the way I would like it to be. But for now I'm too busy (and too lazy) to change it again. I've started writing the next chapter, so you can expect that one soon.

**Reviews are much appreciated (and not to mention, make me work faster ;p)**

* * *

Chapter 8

_"Breakfast's going to be fish"_, he told her while giving his hand a little wave in the direction of the river.

And that's why she was now standing nearly soaked in a nearby river while _he_ was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. He stood there, watching her doing all the work, while murmering some remarks about her fishing-techniques.

Hinata took a deep breath and gave him a quick glare before giving her fullest concentration back to the salmonshe had laid her eyes on.

---

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as he watched another failed attempt from the girl in the river.

Had this girl no skill at all? Maybe his deductions about her being a shinobi where false after all. True, she was a Hyuuga, and definitly had the body of a shinobi, as he witnessed himself, but seeing her struggle with a simple fish made him wonder.

Sasuke gave Hinata another look and realised that this could take a while. He let out a displeased groan as he leant back against the tree.

_"**Please, don't kill Naruto-kun!"**_ The voice of the frightened girl echoed in his mind.

_Naruto... _

He was there, he knew it!  
But now he was gone, and he had no doubt in his mind that he was taken by them, by him!

He clenched his fists.

_Baka! _

Running right into an Akatsuki's hidingplace, what was that idiot thinking?

_**"He wants to save you"** _

At first he thought the girl was talking about the bastard that called himself his brother, after all that was the reason he was there in the first place.

He sighed and closed his eyes. _Coming to save me and now in need of rescuing yourself, eh Naruto?_

If the whole situation wasn't as messed up as it was now, he would have laughed (AN:…well, chuckled, he still had his rep to think about XD). It was ridiculous after all. Avenging your family shouldn't be this hard. It shouldn't include your former teammate hunting you down, getting kidnapped himself, and then leave a girl behind to trouble you.

Even if that girl is a Hyuuga.

The timid kunoïchi without any real ninja-capabilities. Probably someone of a lower class within the clan.

The Uchiha-heir has read about the Byakugan, a very powerful bloodline trait, perhaps even matching his own. He would like to get a glimps of that power.

Yet he hasn't even seen her make an attempt to activate it.

_Whatever, I should've left her at the mansion. _

But somehow he felt this girl was strong, and his curiosity got the best of him. That why he asked her to take care of breakfast, but Hinata refused to activate her bloodline limit, or use any other ninja-techniques for that matter.

He could just ask her to show him her ability's but he didn't want to give her the impression that he was actually interested in learning more about _her._

He opened his eyes only to see that same girl staring right at him. She wasn't really looking at him, his guess was that she was going through some inner turmoil of some sort.

_What the hell is she thinking about now?! _

The raven-haired boy smirked.

_Only one way to find out._

_---_

After another failed attempt of catching that darn salmon Hinata sighed.

In normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been a problem, yet she just wasn't able to focus. Her thoughts were with Naruto.

_W__here is he, is he alright? _

She wanted to run off and find him.

Yet she couldn't because she was catching fish for the boy they both ran off to save.

She honestly had no idea what she should do at this point. At first, she hoped that sticking with Sasuke meant a easier way to persuade him to return to Konoha, keeping him safe in the mean time And eventually running into Naruto, who would be looking for them as well.

She glanced at the raven-haired shinobi, who seemed to be of in thoughts as well, and she briefly wondered if Sasuke really was in need of saving after all, but at the same time dismissed that thought because that really wasn't the issue here. _Sasuke is one of Naruto-kun's precious people!_ she muttered,_ ... but Naruto-kun isn't here_.

More and more the Hyuuga-heiress got the feeling that something terrible had happened to him. _And there is nothing I can do..._ She stares at Sasuke if asking to help her, as if asking him to tell her what to do now. But that's what happened all her life, other people making choices for her. Ever since she was little, everything was arranged for her, what to eat, which friends to have, what to do. Although she didn't like it, she obeyed.

And then there were Naruto-kun and Neji-nii.  
With their encouragement and advice she feels more in control of her choices, she feels stronger, yet, when they aren't around she feels as helpless as ever.

She watches the man at the shore, who had taken her in-activeness as an opportunity to close his eyes.

_With his eyes closed, he looks so... innocent_, she noticed, _... and cute_, she added slightly blushing.

But she knows better.

Sasuke is strong.

He has a strong will and makes his own choices, regardless of what people think of him.

Although Hinata didn't approve of his way of doing things, it's his choice and he has accepted the consequences of that choice.

She guessed she could respect him for that...

_"I should be able to make my own choices too, on my own, without the support that comes from encouragement or advice! I should think for myself! I'll help Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun and I will..." _she muttered as she was still looking at Sasuke but was shocked as she found him staring back at here.

A red blush immediately marked her cheeks as his eyes searched hers. Somehow Hinata managed to keep his gaze without fainting.  
They stared at each other for a moment -although for Hinata it seemed an eternity - until he spoke:

"Tell me, Hyuuga Hinata."

Not knowing what he meant she asked: "A-ano, what should I tell you, Uchiha-san?"

"Everything." he answered with a smirk. Much to Hinata's horror, she could see his pupil change to a red color..

He activated his Sharingan.

---

Elsewhere 

**"_I will bring him back even if I have to make him!"_**

"Naruto!"

Her eyelids fluttered and she was forced to block her vision with her arm because of the heavy light shining directly into her eyes.. Managing to adjust herself to the light, she opened her esmerald eyes to let her gaze fall upon a red ceiling.

_Where am I?_

A headache immediately started aching before she started to furiously rub the back of her head. To her surprise, it was bandaged.

_What the hell is going on here?_ she thought, as panic slightly overtook her.

She lifted the covers and she was relieved to see that she was still dressed in her old clothes.

Sitting up straight; she absorbed her surroundings and noticed she was alone in a what appeared to be a nicely decorated room, but although she liked the color red, this was a bit much for her to take in, especially with the enormous headache she was suffering.  
The last thing she remembered was that she was following some guy who had apparently kidnapped Naruto. She was hiding in the bushes and then… nothing. It was obvious that she collided with the enemy.

_But if so, why am I still alive and taken care of?_  
_  
_Sakura jumped out of bed, walked over to the door and twisted the doornob. _Locked. No surprises there.._  
The fifth's apprentice could easily force a way out but unfortunately she had distinguished two male chakra points on the other side of the door. Putting her ear against the door she could hear their voices. And although they were whispering, she could hear bits and pieces from their conversation:

"Kyuubi... tomorrow night... carefull...brother... Itachi"

It seems that they parted after that, because she could hear footsteps fading.

For Sakura it was now clear that Naruto was taken away by someone from the Akatsuki, who she thought could have been no other then Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi. Therefore the resemblance she noticed earlier.

Not much time to linger on that one, because once again she could hear footsteps, this time approaching.

She scattered away from the door and remained frozen a few feet from the entrance.She waited until the person on the other side of the door burst into the room but to her surprise, a knock on the door was heard:  
"Are you dressed, yeah?", a male voice asked cheerfully.

Gathering some courage from this delay she quickly scoped the room for another exit, but she could find none.

"If yes, I'm coming in!"

So the pink-headed shinobi went for the the best alternative, she formed a fist, and aimed for the floor.

"If not, I'm coming in too, yeah?"

* * *

A/N There you go. As I said, I'm not happy with it. Consider it more as a set-up for chapters to come, as is the next chapter. Anyway don't forget to review! Thanks for reading... xxx 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Naruto? Nope still don't own it.

A/N: Here I am again with a brand new chappie! Yes... fast wasn't it? It's because I have a summerjob with lots of free time on my hands.

Warning just in case: this chapters contains cursing.

Enjoy, and don't forget to **REVIEW!!**

_PS: this chapter still needs to be read by my beta, so no flames for grammars pls!_

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Ohajo! Neji-kun!" TenTen yelled enthusiastic when she saw him standing in de the middle of the training grounds. In return she received a polite nod from her long haired teammate, his expression remaining stoic as usual.

"Where's Lee?" she asked, but her question was answered when she saw Lee emerging from behind the trees, wearing his trademark green spandex.

"TENTEN-SAN, NEJI-SAMA!" he cried out, darting towards them,  
"YOSH! KONOHA'S PRIDEFUL GREEN BEAST HAS ARRIVED!! He added when he got to his teammates, not paying attention to their annoyed expressions.

"And how are my youthful teammates today?" he asked with a smile, attempting to hug Neji in the process. As expected, Neji wasn't too happy with that, and forcefully pushed the thick eye-browed male away, which caused Lee to turn to his other team-mate instead.

TenTen rolled her eyes and said "Save it Lee, we've got some training to do.", which was her courteous way of saying _'touch me and you die'._

"Yosh, and we will do our best because, after all, we are the spring of youth," he cheered, as he did his 'nice-guy pose' to set power to that statement. "Where is Gai-sensei?"

"He's at the stone country on a mission, mumbling something about 'saving those with the power of youth'". She didn't remember exactly what he said; after all, Maito Gai could talk hours and hours without actually saying anything, and, just like his pupil, he tends to be over-dramatic. So it's no surprise that her brain frequently shuts down when in a conversation with the Jounin.

"That's my Gai-sensei!" Lee screamed, tears overflowing in his eyes. "I've expected nothing less from such a caring, loving…"

Ignoring his teammate's declarations of love towards their sensei, Neji turned himself to TenTen: "So it's just us three today?"

She responded with a nod and continued to glare at Lee, who was still muttering words of praise for their sensei. "… always thinking about protecting our youthful fellow shinobi…I will become as strong as Gai-sensei! Gai-sensei is the best and…"  
She was about to silence their sensei's favorite student with a firm whack on the head, but was interrupted by the voice of her other teammate.

"I'm going back to the compound then," the prodigy of the Hyuuga-clan stated simply, turning his back to his teammates, and he started to walk away slowly from the training grounds.

This caused both TenTen as Lee to look at each other with cocked eyebrows and then back to the retreating figure of their teammate.

"Wait, Neji-sama!" Lee shouted.

Neji, on the other hand, didn't slow down, so Lee started running towards him, but both figures stopped when they heard the screech of the falcon circling above their heads.

"A message from the Hokage!" TenTen exclaimed, pointing towards the small container on the bird's left paw.

This caused both boys to return to their female teammate, who had already lifted the container of the falcon and began reading the letter that was hidden inside of it.

"She wants to see us right away."

"What for?"

"It doesn't say."

Neji sighed. _Probably another D or C-mission._

In the last couple of days, Team Gai has received over 10 missions to complete, all of them without any real fighting or risk involved.

Normally, the Hyuuga-prodigy wasn't one for complaining about getting such kind of missions.  
"_An order is an order_," he always said. But being stuck with someone as Rock Lee in your team, with nothing to distract you from his annoying babblings, makes a man pretty frustrated. Add a hyper-active Matoi Gai to that, and you would surely loose your mind. _One guy in spandex is enough to deal with._

During those missions, Gai and Lee kept clinging together; praising eachother's awesomeness, which was always followed by Lee throwing himself into his sensei's arms and Gai embracing his pupil while crying: _"Gai-sensei!"… "Lee!"_

He had enough of it. _I'm a Jounin for god's sake, I don't have to take this crap any longer!_

If he didn't know better, he would have thought that the Hokage gave those missions to him on purpose. He hasn't even seen Hinata for almost a week now, which left him pretty worried about her safety, without him around, her protector, her advisor. It was the reason he wanted to go back to the compound, using his free time to go and see her, instead of useless sparring in with his teammates who'll never manage to beat him anyway.

Things have changed since the time they both fought at the Chuunin exam, now over 5 years ago. He has accepted Hiashi's request to protect the heir from all harm and thanks to that, he grew much closer to his cousin. He began to see that she wasn't as weak as people thought she was, and most of all, that she had a heart of gold.

Although he was the one that was supposed to give her advice, it was him that benefited the most from their re-found bond. He realized that he was wrong in hating the main-branch for so long, and he left his wants of revenge behind him. She teached him to accept the fact that their destiny is more fixed then others, but that he has to bear in mind that that doesn't mean that you can't choose the path you walk to get there- , while he teached her to defend herself, not only physically but he also managed to stop her stuttering around him and to speak up when she had something on her mind.

And even though he knew that Hinata was capable of taking care of herself, he couldn't help but feel uneasy at leaving her alone for a mission. Luckily she couldn't be safer at any other place then the one she was at now, inside the heavily guarded walls of the Hyuuga-compound… or so he thought.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting at her desk, holding a cup of sake in the one hand, a letter in the other. 

_This is so troublesome, s_he thought, her eyes mindlessly going over the content of the letter once more, even though she knew by heart what it said.

On the chair in the corner of the office, a man was waiting for her to take in the information he just provided.

"So if your sources are correct, this is the hiding place of the Akatsuki?"

"One of the many, yes." he answered seriously.

A deadly silence struck the room for a few seconds until the fifth Hokage rose from her chair and slammed her fist loudly on her desk.

"Shit!"

"Tsunade…"

"Leave Jiraya, but don't go to far, I might need your help with this."

"Of course," the 52 year-old toad sannin responded, he picked up his scroll and moved towards the door, only to have that same door smash right into his face revealing a surprised team 9.

From behind them emerged a flushed Shizune, signalizing to Tsunade "uhm your 11 à clock appointment is here Tsunade-sama!"

"Obviously." Tsunade answered sarcastically.

Jiraya took the opportunity of the kids entering to leave the room quickly himself, closing the door and leaving a dumfounded team 9 behind.

"We're sorry Tsunade-sama, we couldn't hold him" TenTen explained, referring to Lee, who was too enthusiastic about the possibly of a new mission.

They expected an outburst from the old lady, but instead she didn't utter a word. She dropped herself back into her chair and poured herself another cup of sake.

"Well it seems like I got a new mission for you guys… It's an A-mission and…"

"… told you guys! Tsunade-sama, in her prime of youth, knows…"

"Shut up Lee!" Neji and TenTen commanded almost simultaneously.

"Thank you. Now as I was saying, it concerns an A-mission. Five days ago Hyuuga Hinata came to me with a request…"

"Nani!?" Hinata came to you?"

"Yes, she requested me if she could go on a trip with Naruto. But after a while I realised that making a simple trip weren't their real intentions." She said sadly, still ashamed that she was tricked that easily.

"Wait… what? She went with Naruto… alone? And she told you it was a trip? But that was a… lie? _That doesn't seem like Hinata at all…_

"It seems that they both went in search of Sasuke."

"Just with the two of them? That's suicide! Why haven't you informed me earlier of this?"

"You're too involved. You are her cousin, and from what I've heard, appointed by Hiashi as her protector. I was afraid that you would recklessly run off and try to find her, or that your uncle would find out about it. It was best to keep it quiet. Besides, I've send someone else to follow them."

"So is that"s the reason why you've been giving us those crappy missions the past few days!" he said, his voice rose, Neji was unable to hide his anger any longer.

"I had to keep you busy, besides, those missions had to be done by someone," she answered him calmly, taking a sip from her sake.

"But Tsunade-sama, if you send someone else to go after them, why did you call us?" TenTen asked, slightly upset with her friend's outburst.

Tsunade sighed, "because new information was revealed. A couple of days after I send Sakura…"

"Sakura-chan! My flower of youth!" Lee interrupted, but received an elbow from TenTen into his stomach, which caused him to moan in pain, but silenced him none the less.

"A couple of days after she left, I received a letter with the coördinates of their location. By coïncidence I found out that the location is that of an Akatsuki hide-out."

"What!"

"Yes, it seems that Naruto, Hinata and Sakura unknowingly walked right into the beast's lair."

"..."

For once Neji didn't know what to say. He was mad at Tsunade for letting this happen, and angry with Hinata, although he doubted that this was her idea. No it was that idiot of an Uzumaki. He's gonna kill Naruto, after he saves him from whatever shit he got himself into. His rage was about to burst out of its bubble, as he practically yelled:

"We have to go after them!"

"That's why you are here. I've send a ANBU squad to check out the location described in the letter but all they could find was an abandoned mansion, there were no signs of a fight, but whe can't know for sure if they walked out of there freewillingly or not. Either way we have to have certainty that they are in trouble, otherwise I have no choice but to consider them missing-nin."

"What? Missing-nin! Tsunade-sama, with all do respect, these are our comrades we are speaking of!" TenTen argued, not believing that her friends could be gone forever.

"And not mention my cousin!"

"TenTen, Neji, don't forget they left at their own free will, if they don't return I have no choice."

"We won't let that happen, we accept this mission! When do we leave?"

"Yo!" a male figure greeted from out of the doorframe.

"Kakashi don't you knock?"

After the figure of the copy-nin halted an exhausted Shizune, "...Tsunade... sama..."

"Yes I know, Shizune, my appointment is here." Tsunade responded in frustration, causing a embarrased Shizune to run off.

"Kakashi will be joining you on this mission. His nin-dogs will come in handy."

The group exhanged polite talk as Neji became impatient: "When do we leave?"

"We're just waiting for one more person, he should have already finished the mission I gave him."

A knock on the door was heard and everyone turned his gaze towards the door.  
"That should be him. Enter!"

As the door waved open, Neji sweatdropped. In de doorframe stood a grown man, wearing spandex. Giving only this short description, we all know it could be no one other then

"Gai-sensei!" Lee cheered, running with his arms outstreched towards the object of his youthfullness.

"Lee!" Gai yelled, tears threatning to fall.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee cried in his sensei's jounin vest.

"Lee," Gai whispered lovingly, petting his student on the head.

Watching the scene in front of him, Neji cursed.

_This is gonna be a long day..._

* * *

So what do you think? First time writing about team Gai (dugh, since this is still my first fic) it was fun!! 

**Don't read and leave, read and REVIEW!!**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hi people, sorry again for the long wait!

I just noticed that the one year anniversary of this fic has passed, and I want to thank all my readers for hanging on to this story. I apoligize for the long delays and but want to reassure you all: I WILL FINISH THIS FIC!

I'm done with my job, my boyfriend moved to Scotland, and I'm currently focussing on writing my thesis. My subject is 'Anime fandom in the digital era' 

So reading fanfic, writing fanfic, drawing fanart, engaging in anime forums and of course... watching anime! It's all on my to-do-list.

For now I present to you, chapter 10 of my story.

Next chapter will be up soon, I promise for a review!

Warning: Rating up to M just in case (for sasuke smexiness :p)

Unrevised again... sorry!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Tell me, Hyuuga Hinata."_

_Not knowing what he meant she asked: "A-ano, what should I tell you, Uchiha-san?"_

"_Everything." he answered with a smirk. Much to Hinata's horror, she could see his pupil change to a red color.._

_He activated his Sharingan._

Hinata's bewilderment increased when she saw him undoing his top, leaving him nothing but his waist-kimono, undergarments and sash which holded his sword. His eyes never left her as he took it off.

She couldn't help her mouth falling open and she blushed, tapping her indexfingers nervously against't each other. Her eyes traced his chest, muscled as expected, and pale skin..., so much unlike Naruto's well toned skin. She felt herself turning even redder by the thought of it.

She quickly averted her gaze from his chest towards his face, and gulped when she remembered his activated blood limit.

"Sasuke?" She asked with a shaky voice.

At first he didn't respond. He stood there, arms crossed, like he was thinking, although his eyes never left the young heiress of the Hyuuga-clan.

"Come at me, Hyuuga Hinata." He finally spoke.

She noticed his voice wasn't raised, just the same impassive tone his usually had when he spoke to her. His expression never changed when he said those words, and he remained as calm as ever, making Hinata extremely confused.

_What is he doing?_

With his sword still sheeld safely inside his sash, he looked at her provonkingly, arms crossed over his well build chest.

"W-why?" She asked him, inwardly cursing herself for the stutter.

The raven-haired shinobi didn't utter a word, and in a flash he was besides here, making her flinch in surprise.  
The chakra-flow to her feet was disrupted by the sudden distraction and she fell in the water beneath her.

"Pathetic". She heard him say as she sunk into the deep. She could only imagine the smirk on his face right now.

She struggled, her heavy jacket compromising her movements. Eventually she managed to reach the surfuce after discarding it on the way. She lunged for air and quickly swam to the edge of the lake. Drained, and heavy breathing, she dropped herself on a rock and looked around for Sasuke.

She was about to use her remaining chakra to activate her Byakugan, but halted when she heard a chuckle coming from behind her.

Hinata looked over her shoulder, and quickly turned around when she saw him sitting against a tree, just a few feet away from her.

She was relieved to see his Sharingan unactivated, but was feeling uneasy with the way he looked at her. But when she turned around his eyes contained something which was rather unknown to Hinata. It was almost primal, animalistic, it made her skin tingle.

She followed his gaze, and noticed that her wet clothes were giving him far more to see then she would have liked. The familiar nausea came back, but she refused to faint in this state of nudity. Instead she would have to live with the unfamiliar feeling inside of her that was caused by him looking at her that way. She was burning everywhere.

From embarrassment, of course.

Covering as much skin as she could with her arms and hands, she stood straight and waited for him to start his mockery once more.

But it never came.

x

He wanted to know what she could do, that Hyuuga-girl, beat her around if he had to.

But the thought of bruising that divine body of her, made him lose interest in that.

He eyed her body, and just like he noticed earlier, she had the perfect figure, which could make any man lose total control upon seeing it. Even though he remained cool and collected on the outside, his eyes couldn't hide his desire. His eyes roamed her body, until they fell upon a small scar on her tummy, barely noticable, but it was there. Rage went through him and he promised to kill anyone who dared breaking such flawless skin.

She asked him if she could be excused so she could change clothes. He nodded, and chuckled as she walked passed by him, her arms folded protectively over her breasts.

He kept his onyx eyes on her as she returned to camp. He blinked and felt angry for letting her go so easily. With a grunt, he went after her.

x

Breakfast was not fish; it was canned fruit that Hinata brought along when she left Konoha.

Sasuke noticed that she was wearing the kimono he dropped earlier.

"I'm sorry, I, I forgot that I don't have any spare clothes left." She shyly said before he could ask.

He blushed in response, and needed to admit that she looked beautiful. Her hair hanging losely over her exposed shoulder, still wet from the water. He shook his head and took a seat next Hinata, who fell silent.

"Why didn't you activate you bloodline limit earlier, when you fell?" He asked her suddenly, as he turned down the piece of pineapple she presented him.

"Uh, it wasn't necessary. I wasn't in any real danger"

The avenger chuckled at her answer. "No real danger?"

Hinata shrugged her shoulders and her lips formed a smile. "Well I might be the clumsiest ninja in the world, I know how to swim."

He laughed at her comment, and for a moment there Hinata could actually see Sasuke smile, and she felt immediatly at ease.

"But you can activate it?"

"Of course I can, I am from the Main House after all; we usually learn to use our bloodline around 4 years old. And then we are learned not to rely on the Byakugan too much, because it consumes a lot of chakra while activated.", she explained, slightly offended with his question.

Sasuke's face went back to serious and he listened intently as Hinata spoke. His eyes widened when she told him that she was from the Main House, making her of royal blood.

"So what happened at the lake, that was all for this?"

"Yes. I wanted to force you to activate your blood limit"

"Oh"

He cocked an eyebrow at that, _Oh?_

"Well if you wanted to see the Byakugan, you should've just asked"

He blinked, and then saw her making handsigns. She flinched when he activated his own Sharingan, and was just slightly reassured when he promised to not do her any harm.

"Byakugan!" She yelled, and veins popped up around her eyes.

She looked at Sasuke, who seemed to be transfixed by the sight, his hands moving to both sides of her face, cupping her cheeks. His eyes remained locked with her as he carresed her cheeks with his thumbs. A blush crept up and she closed her eyes, savoring the moment

The moment was interrupted, when they heared leaf cracking.

"There's someone approaching!" she warned Sasuke, pointing in the direction of the sound.

She looked through the thick forest with her Byakugan.

"There!"

Sasuke drawed his sword. "How many?"

Hinata scanned the entire area "Just one"she answered, and returned her eyes back to the intruder.

A shadow appeared in front of them and stepped out of the high grass.

"Hi there Sasuke-san, it's been a while" a male voice greeted as his face was revealed

"You!"

* * *

A/N: Woohoo, finally finished this chapter, took me long enough! 

And surprise surprise... cliffhanger!

Don't forget to review!

x


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